Mechanical stoker.



A. G. ELVIN.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

APPLICATION FILED 001 .21, 1913.

1,128,428. Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

6 8HEETS-SHEET 1.

A. G. ELVIN.

MECHANICAL STOKEE.

APPLIGATION FILED 00121, 1913.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PD no A. G. ELVIN.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

APPLICATION FILED OGT.21.191S.

1,1 28,428. Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET 3.

A. G. ELVIN.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

APPLICATION FILED 00121, 1913. 1 128,428. Patented Feb. 16, 1915. v 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES A. G. ELVIN.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

APPLIOATION FILED 0013.21, 1913.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5 n Iii q F ALBERT e. ELVI'N, or SOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY.

MECHANICAL s'roxmi.

To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERrG. ELVIN, of Somerville, in the county of Somerset and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Mechanical Stokers', of which improvement the following is a specification. v

My invention relates to appliances for feeding fuel to locomotive and other steam boiler furnaces, in which the members which act directly to project the fuel are in the form of fuel carrying and throwing shovels, moving about vertical axes, adjacent to a firing opening in the furnace, as generally exemplified in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,058,356, granted and issued to me under date of April 8, 1913.

The object of my present invention is to provide means, of simple and inexpensive construction, and ready applicability in locomotives of the various present standard types, for delivering fuel to the shovels of a mechanical stoker of the above type, and for imparting movement to theshovels, in proper reciprocal relation and at the speed proper in different portions of their traverse for the erformance of their function of feeding uel to the furnace.

The im rovement claimed is'hereinafter fully set orth. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in section, of the adjoining portions of a coupled locomotive engine and tender,

illustrating an application of my invention; I Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal central S607 tionthrough a mechanical stoker embodying my invention, and through the rear water wall of the firebox of a locomotive engine and a portion of the tender on which it is applied; Fig. 3, a view, partly in-plan and partly in section, of the rear portion of 1 the conveyer casing; Fig. .4, a rear view of the apparatus; Fig. 5, a plan view of the shovel box; Fig. 6, a horizontal section through the shovel motors and feed piston; Fig; 7, a view showing thesupply and exhaust valve chest partly in side' elevation and partly in vertical longitudinal central section, and the valve operating motor in transverse sectionyFi 8, a vertical transverse section through t e valve chest, on the line a a of Fig. 7; and,.-Fig. 9, a-view' of a v double lifting cam.

Referring to the drawings, my invention is hereinexemplified in connection with-a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

Application filed October 21, 1913. Serial No. 796,377.

locomotive engine (indicated as a whole by B) and a tender (indicated as aj whole by A) wh1ch are coupled together for service, 111 the ordinary manner, by a draw bar, C, my invention being applied for the purpose of mechanically conveying fuel from the coal space, a, of the tender, to the firing door open1ng,.b, of the firebox, b, of the locomot ve, and intermittently projecting apportloned quantities o f'fuel through-said opening into the firebox.

In the practice of my invention, I pro-' vide, at the front end of the coal space, a, a fuel supply hopper, 1, through which the fuel is supplied'by gravity to the rear end of a conveyer casing, 2, which extends forwardly and upwardly to a connection with cated thereon. In order to provide for relative movements of the locomotive and ten- 'd'er', a sleeve,-1, is formed on the bottom of the hopper, 1, and fitted in a correspondfloating sleeve, 1", having a horizontal flange, 1, which is fitted to slide "between a bearing on the top of an inlet nozzle, 2", on the conveyer casing, 2, and a cap, 29, secured removably thereto. It will be seen that this construction performs the functions of a universal joint, in permitting relative lateral, longitudinal and vertical movements of the fuel hopperand conveyer ne o The fuel which is supplied to the conveyer casing, 2, from the hopper, 1, through the inlet nozzle, 2", is forced forwardly and upwardly through the conveyer casing, by a plunger, 3, which is fitted to reciprocate thereln',' below and across the inlet nozzle, and'in-order to promote the movement \of the fuel through the .conveyer casing, a plu- 'ralit-y ef: ushers or flaps, 3, may be pivoted to links; 3", coupled together and to the plunger, and extending longitudinally in the conveyer casing, upon thfe inside of the b'ottom of which there is formed a pluraIit-y ofginclined retarding strips, 3, toprevent fuel from slipping backward inethe return movements of the plunger. -The pushers are raised by the p essure of :the fuel against them, in theforward movements of the plunger, and are prevented from passing beyond lines perpendicular to the bottom of the conveyer casing by pins, 3, fixed in the links, 3". In the return movements of the plunger, the pushers drop and slide backwardly under the fuel. The conveyer casing is preferably outwardly in- .clined toward its discharge end, to facilitate the delivery of the fuel, as shown in Fig. 4.

The fuel which is carried through the conveyer casing, passes therefrom into a vertical feed cylinder, 4, which is supported adjacent to the rear of the firebox, b, and with which, slightly below'its top, the up- .per end of the conveyer casing, communicates. The feed cylinder, 4, is fitted with a piston, 4, fixed upon a piston rod, 4, and is open, at its top, to a shovel box, 9. When the piston, 4, is atthe lower extremity of its traverse, as shown in Fig. 2, it receives a charge of fuel from the conveyer casing, and, at the upper extremity of its traverse, delivers said charge into the shovel box, from which it is projected into the firebox by one or the other of a pair of shovels swinging therein, as hereinafter described.

The movements of the plunger, 3, and

the piston, 4 of the feed cylinder, 4, are

effected by a motor cylinder, 5, supported on the frame of the locomotive, below and adjacent to the feed cyl nder, through the following connections. The cylinder, 5,

is bored out to a larger upper and smaller lower diameter, and is fitted with a corresponding differential diameter. piston, .5". 1 The cylinder is transversely slotted, near the middle of its length, and a transverse slot, 5 is formed in the piston, the ends of said slot being each inclined in opposite directions from the axial line of the piston, in the form of a flattened V, 'A double armed actuating lever, 6, is j ournaled adjacent to the cylinder, 5,.one of the arms of said lever passing through the slot, 5", of the piston, and being coupled by a link, 6, to the lower end of the piston rod, 4", of the feed cylinder. Theppposite end of thele- .ver, 6, is coupled, by links, 6", to the lower *arm of a bell crank, 7, the upper arm of which is coupled by a link, 7, to a bar, 8, extending transversely to the axis of the conveyer casing, and the bar, 8, is connected by parallel rods, 8 sliding in lateral guides, 2, on the conveyer casing, to a similar bar, 8", in rear thereof. The bar, 8 is connected by apin, 8, to the plunger, 3.

Upon the admission of motive fluid to the cylinder, 5, above the larger area of its piston, 5, and the exhaust of motive fluid from the space below the smaller area of its'pisten, the piston will make a downward stroke, and the forward arm of the actuat ing lever will be depressed, and will draw down the piston of the feed cylinder,.-thereby permitting the admission of a charge-of 1,1ee,eae

fuel above said piston. The plunger, 3, will. be coincidently moved forward by its connections tothe rear arm of the actuating lever, fuel in the conveyer casing. The upward stroke of the piston, 5, effected by the admission of motive fluid below its smaller lower area and the exhaust of motive fiuid from its upper larger area, will force the piston, 4, of the feed cylinder upwardly, so as to deliver a charge of fuel to the shovel box, and will move the plunger, 3, rear- Wardly, to receive a charge of fuel from the hopper, 1

The charges of fuel whichare supplied from the feed cylinder, 4, to the shovel box, 9, are, as in the appliance set forth in Letters Patent No. 1,058,356 aforesaid, projected into the firebox by swinging movements of one or the other of two fuel carrying and throwing shovels, each comprising a stock or body, 11, and a blade, 11, which longitudinally and also curved or 18 curved bent transversely, thereby enabling it to receive and carry, in its movements, a charge of fuel, in the manner of an ordinary firemans shovel or scoop. The shovels are fixed upon the squared upper ends of two shovel shafts, 12, the axes of which are lo-v cated on opposite sides of the shovel box, in a common plane which may be either vertical, as shown, or substantially parallel with the back head of the firebox, which in locomotives of recent construction, is ordinarily forwardly and upwardly inclined.

Each of the shovel shafts is swung about its axial line by an independent shovel motor, which is supported below the shovel box, and, in the instance shown comprises a fluid pressure'cylinder, 13, and a properly packed piston, "14, fitted to reciprocate therein. Fluid under pressure, as steam or compresse air, is admitted to and exhausted from the outer ends of each of the cylinders, through pipes 17 Hand each of the pistons is transversely slotted at its middle portion, to engage an arm, .15, which is vfixed on a vertical shaft, 15, journaled on the cylinder, 13, and projects through a slot in the wall thereof. The shaft, 15, carries a toothed segment, 15*, which engages a corresponding segment, 12", on the lower end of the adjacent shovel shaft, 12. It is desirable, in operation, that the inward or return traverses of the shovels, to positions, in which each of them picks up a charge of fuel, should be effected at lower rates of speed than their outward traverses, in which they throw the charges of fuel into the firebox, and for this purpose, the supply of motive fluid to the opposite ends of the motor cylinder, 13,, is properly regulated, as, for example, by mak ng the supply ports at the rear ends of the cylinders of smaller. capacity than those at the front ends, or by makingthe bores of the front ends of the cylinders greater than those of the rear ends.

It will be obvious that the correct timing, as to speed, and relation of the function's performed by the several members of'the apparatus, that is to say, the feeding and return strokes of the conveyer plunger,feed cylinder'piston, and shovels, is essential to insure normal and effective operation, and, to this end, I provide means whereby the admission and exhaust of'motiv'e fluid to and from the conveyer motor and the shovel motors, are regulated, bothlas to period and sequence, by'an independent manually controllable valve operating motor and a plurality of supply and exhaust valves actuated thereby. The following construction is one which is effectively applicable for the purpose above stated. A casing or chest, 16, is supported at one side of the shovel box, 9, preferably, as shown, by being connected directly thereto, and a valve operating motor, '17 is secured to one end of said chest. The valve operating motor does not in and of itself, form part of my present invention, and a motor of any suitable known type may be applied, that which-is herein exemplified being set forth in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,050,528 granted and issued tome under date of January 14, 1913. A supply and valve chamber, 16*, to which fluid under pressure is supplied from a suitable source, as the boiler of the locomotive or a reservoir of compressed air, by a main supply pipe, 16", is'formed at the top'of the chest, 16, said chamber being closed by a removable cover plate, 16. A plurality of vertical passages, 16, extends, in .a single longitudinal plane,

"through the bottom wall of the chamber, 1 6",

each'of six of said passages communicating,

\ through one side of the casing, with a fluid pressure supply pipe, leadin to one end of one of the three motor cylin ers, 5, 13, and 13 asthe pipe, 17, and, through the other side of the casing, with a fluid pressure exhaust pipe leading to the atmosphere, as the pipe," 17I A supply and exhaust. valve, 18,

is fitted in the top of each of the passages,

16, said valve having a lower cylindrical stem, of smaller diameter than the passage; a cylindrical body above said stem, fitting truly in the passage; and a conical face above the body, fitting a corresponding seat formed at the upper end of the passage. The bottom of the stem of the valve rests on a lifter, 19, which fits truly in the passa e.

reference to Figs. 7 and 8, it will be seen that the chest, 16, is provided with connections for ten supply pipes, 17 and ten exhaust pipes, 17, a supply and an exhaust pipe leadinginto and out of each of the passages, 16, 'in'the chest, only four of sired, be used in connection with the mechanical stoker of my present invention.

When one of the valves, 18, is unseated by being raised by its lifter, communication "is established around the valve stem, from the main supply pipe, 16 through the chamber, 16*, to the supply pipe, as 17, which is'connected to the passage in which the valve is fitted, and communication between said passage and {the exhaust pipe, as 17, is cut off by the lifter, 19. When the valve is seated, which is'efi'ected. by its own gravity, and the pressure above it in the chamber, 16*, communication between said chamber and the passage 'is cut ofl", and communication is established, around the stem of the valve, between the supply and exhaust pipes, as 17 and 17, leading into the passage. The valves, 18, thus perform their function of admitting and exhausting motive fluid to and from the motor cylinders, in the se quence in which they are actuated by the cam shaft hereinafter described.

A cam shaft, 20, is journaled in hearings in the casing, 16, below, and in the same vertical longitudinal plane as, the passages, 16 and a plurality of lifting cams, 21, is secured upon said shaft, the periphery of each of the cams abutting against the lower end of-one of the lifters, 19. The several cams are adjusted on the shaft, 20. in such determined angular relation as will enable themt' when the cam shaftis rotated, to raise the respective lifters, and thereby unseat the corresponding valves. 18. in the sequence required for the operation of the motors of the conveyer plunger and shovel shafts in the relation proper for effecting their several functions. As the conveyer plunger and feedcylinder piston are required to make a feeding and a return movement in accordance with the stroke of each of the shovels. double lifting cams, 21*, shown in Fig. 9, are applied for unseating the valves of the motor cylinder twice in each, revolution of the camshaft, 20. 'Rotation is imparted to the cam shaft, from the driving shaft, 7, of the valve operating motor, in this instance through a Worm, 1.7,"on the driving shaft, which engages a Worm wheel. on the cam shaft, in the ordinary manner. and the speed of the various motors, and conscquentlythe rate at which the fuel is fed to the firebox, may be varied, as desired, by regulating the supplyof ino- 'tive. fiuidto the valve operating motor by a the firebox moves to its and the operation is repeated, the charge of throttle valve, 17 controlling the supply pipe, 17, thereof.

In the operation of a mechanical stoker embodying my invention, the fuel which drops from the coal bin of the tender through the fuel supply hopper, 1, into the conveyer casing, 2, is fedthrough said casing, by the forward movements of the plunger, 3, in measured quantities, determined by the area of the receiving opening of the casing, one ofsaid quantities or charges of fuel passing out of the upper end of the conveyer casing, during each forward movement of the plunger, into the feed cylinder, 4.. upon the top of the piston, 4, thereof. the upward movement of said piston, which is coincident with the backward movement of the plunger (during which its feeding action is intermitted and a charge of fuel is supplied, in front of it, to the conveyer casing), this'charge of fuel is lifted into the shovel box, 9, in front of the shovels, 11, 11. This charge of fuel is then projected into the firebox by one of the shovels in rear of it, which shovel returns to its rear position before another charge of fuel is supplied to it; the plunger, 3, moves backward in position-for another charge of fuel to be dropped in front of it from the hopper; the piston, 4, descends to its lowest position, in position to receive the charge of fuel nearest the top of the conveyer casing;

the shovel which was gm its forward position when the. preceding charge was thrown into backward position,

fuel being throwm into the firebox by the shovel last mentioned. As previously explained, the movements of the several members in proper operative sequence and relation are insured by the timing of the action of the motors by a single independent valve operating motor.

The means of supporting the rear end of the conveyer casing, and of connecting the inlet nozzle thereof with the coal space of the tender, which are herein described and shown, are not claimed as of my present invention, and these, with further detailed improvement, constitute the subject matter of a separate application filed by me December 30, 1914, Ser. No. 879,683.

I claim as my invention and desire to se cure by Letters Patent:

1. In a mechanical stoker, the combination of a fuel'receptacle adapted to be supported on a locomotive and to communicate with a firing opening in the firebox thereof,

two fuel shovels mounted to swing horizontally in said receptacle, a fuel receiving hop per adapted to be sup orted on a locomotive tender below the uel space thereof, a conveyer casing connected rigidly to the fuel rece tacle, and connected wit the capacity 0 relative movement to the fuel remaaeee ceiving hopper, a plunger working in said conveyer casing, a uid pressure motor actuating said plunger, and two fluid pressure motors, each actuating one of said shovels.

2. In a mechanical stoker, the combination of a fuel receptacle adapted to besupported on a locomotive and to communicate with a firing opening in the firebox thereof, two fuel shovels mounted to swing horizontally in said receptacle, a feed cylinder communicating with said fuel receptacle, a piston fitted to reci rocate therein, a conveyer casing leading rom a source of fuel supply to the feed cylinder, a plunger fitted to reciprocate therein, a fluid pressure motor coincidently actuating the piston and plunger in opposite directions, and two fluid pressure motors, each actuatingone of said shovels,

3. In a mechanical stoker, the combination of means for conveying fuel to a locomotive, a fuel receptacle adapted to communicate with a firing opening in the firebox thereof, means for feeding successive charges of conveyed fuel to said receptacle, two fuel shovels mounted to swing horizontally in said receptacle, motors, each actuating, respectively, the conveying and feed means, coincidently and in opposite directions, and one of the shovels, and means for coincidently and relatively controlling the several motors.

4. In a mechanical stoker, the combination of means for conveying fuel to a locomotive, a fuel receptacle adapted to communicate with a firing opening in the firebox thereof, means for feeding successive charges of conveyed. fuel to said receptacle, two fuel shovels mounted to "swing horizontally in said receptacle, motors, each actuating, respectively, the conveying and feed means, coincidently and in opposite directions, and one of the shovels, and an independent valve operating motorcontrolling the movements 0 each of said motors. v

5. In a mechanical stoker, the combination of a fuel receptacle adapted to be supported on a locomotive and to communicate with a firing opening in the firebox thereof, two fuel shovels mounted to. swing horizontally ,in said receptacle, a feed cylinder communicating with said fuel receptacle, a piston fitted to reciprocate therein, a conveyer casing leading from a source of fuel supply a plurality of valves, each controlling the supply and exhaust to and from one of said three motors, and an independent motor actuating said valves. r

6. In a mechanical stoker,- the combination of a fuel supply hopper adapted to be supported on a locomotive tender, below the fuel space thereof, a fuel receptacle adapted to be supported on a locomotive and to communicate with a firing opening in the fire .necting the conveyer casingand the fuel supply hopper with the capacity of relative movement, two fuel shovels mounted to swing horizontally in the fuel receptacle, a plunger fitted to reciprocate inthe conveyer casing, a fluid pressure motor actuating said plunger, andtwo fluid pressure motors, each actuating one of said shovels. 7. In a mechanical stoker, the combination of a fuel receptacle communicating with the firing opening of the furnace, a movable shovel mounted in the receptacle for projecting the fuel through said opening, a

motor for actuating said shovel, a reciprocating piston for delivering successive .charges of fuel to said receptacle, a conveyer casing leading to said piston, a recip rocating conveyer in said casing, a motor for coincidently actuating said piston and the conveyer, in opposite. directions, and means for controlling said motors in the proper sequence.

ALBERT G. ELVIN.

Witnesses:

JOHN L. MOHUN, A. I. DENNELLEY. 

